OnTheAltar [xPPCx]

I am a follower of Yahweh. I greatly value my relationship with His son, Yeshua. That does not mean that I am anything like Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, or anyone else in the neo-conservative movement. That also does not mean that I voted for Bush, am pro-war, anti gay-rights, or bomb abortion clinics.
It does, on the other hand, mean that I find value in love. I believe that true love exists, and is obtainable by everyone. I believe that each person has the right and opportunity to love and to be loved; by a lover, by family, by friends, and by Yahweh. I believe very strongly that each person has value. Our value is not conditional upon who or what we are, but is simply held in the fact that we exist. There is nothing that removes the value of a person from their life.
I understand that I only have two responsibilities in life; to love and serve Yahweh, and to love and serve every person that I come in contact with. I strive to live my life by the ideals of compassion, mercy, community, equal social justice, love, acceptance, service, wisdom, and unity. It's challenging to live a life by these things. It's hard at times not to be selfish, prideful, or even just plain lazy...
It breaks my heart when people treat each other disrespectfully, and are careless with other's hearts. I get uncomforatable with excessive sarcasm, biting remarks, and 'personal-attack' humor. Tearing someone down isn't funny. Either is making them look foolish in front of others. It's about as funny as me standing in front of you and breaking your nose because it might make someone else laugh to see you hurting. I see it as personal/internal weakness when people can't play nice with others more often than they tease them. It's called being a bully. Sure, most people are nice to the bully...but it is because they are intimidated by him, not because they respect or like him. I think it is good for us all to think often about how we treat the people around us.
I like being outdoors. I enjoy the city. I watch people, and how they interact with their environment, and those around them. I am an artist, a musician, and a writer. I take pictures of things that I like, and I film things that I think might impact other people. I am vegan. I am an advocate for the environment and for animals. I run a small, grassroots clothing company called Sacrifice Threads. I love and paint graffitti art. A good beer, or a nice glass of wine beats most anything else to drink. I travel all over the world, but will always call Portland home. I get antsy if I stay in one place for more than six months.
I cannot stop my brain from working overtime, all the time. I think more than might be healthy for me. Sometimes it makes me worry about things that I cannot control such as war, prejudice, injustice, addiction, disease, starvation, the slave trade, global warming, the ramifications of free trade and the W.T.O., political corruption, child soldiers, fair trade, or the diamond industry. I do my best to be actively fighting for justice in these areas. I do believe that one person can make a difference.
I used to spend a lot of time snowboarding and surfing. I skated for close to a decade, but had to quit because of a serious snowboarding accident which led to back surgery...
^ The crew that I coached with in Japan a couple years ago. ^
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^ Yes, this is me in the above picture. ^
^ I love the coast that I live on. ^
I was raised on music, and it has become one of the biggest passions in my life. I listen to just about everything.
For as social as I am, I am somewhat of an homebody. I am much more shy than I come off as being, and I enjoy my solidarity. I read a lot of books. I love to play chess, drink tea, and talk about philosophy. I greatly enjoy conversation, but also very much value silence and the wisdom that is found within it. I've been drawing a lot more lately, which has made me realize how much I have missed it. I persue a lot of different mediums for my art. Woodworking, fine arts, music, crafts, constructing Japanese paper screens, apparel design, video production, graphic design, graffiti art, writing poetry/essays/stories/and lyrics, photography, stenciling. Anything that I can get my hands on, really.
AIM=mason0412